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Georgeland presidential election, 2020
The '''2020 Georgeland presidential election '''will be held on Friday, 6 May 2020. It will elect the President of Georgeland for a four-year term, beginning on 1 July 2020. Incumbent President Campbell Rhodes is running for a full term, having been elected by parliament to complete the term of Eileen Purves, who was elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2016, but resigned in 2017. The Liberal Democratic Party of the United Islands will not be fielding a candidate in the election, and the incumbent, a former LDP member, will run as an independent. All the major and some minority parties in Georgeland will contest the election, with candidates to be chosen in the February-April period. Nominations for the presidency open on 1 March, and end on 1 April. Background The Constitution of Georgeland specifies the president to be elected by the public for a term of four years, with no limit on re-election. Between 1958 and 2008, the president was chosen by the federal parliament - the incumbent, Campbell Rhodes , was also chosen this way, to fill the remainder of an elected president's term. The election will be the fourth presidential election since the restoration of an elected presidency. It is the second in which an incumbent is seeking re-election, and the first in which an incumbent president was not elected at the previous election. Procedure The election will be held with the instant-runoff system, which until 2019 was also used to elect the House of Commons. Voters will rank candidates in order of preference, with the lowest-ranked candidates progressively eliinated from the count and their votes being distributed to higher-polling choices until one candidate has a majority of votes cast. To qualify for the ballot, a candidate must: *be a Georgeland citizen and legally resident for five years *be nominated by: **a legally-registered political party, with 500 signatures or, failing that, 20 elected members of the federal parliament **One thousand Georgeland citizens who have not nominated any other candidate, or **The incumbent president. Technically speaking, the president can nominate his or her opponents, but this requirement is used to permit the incumbent to nominate his or herself for another term. There are no term limits on the presidency. All Georgeland citizens are entitled to vote provided they are registered electors. Georgeland citizens resident overseas are also permitted to vote, as are permanent residents of Commonwealth citizenship. This last requirement will no longer apply at future presidential elections, as Georgeland has now withdrawn from the Commonwealth, but those entitled to vote through Commonwealth citizenship will continue to be eligible for presidential elections until 2021. Timeline *March 1, 2020 - opening of nominations *March 31, 2020 - close of nominations *April 21, 2020 - early voting begins *May 6, 2020 - polling day *July 1, 2020 - beginning of the new presidential term Candidates and nominations Conservative Party of Georgeland The Conservative Party held a nominating convention on 17 January 2020. This followed several months of campaigning and canvassing. Contested the nomination *Lisa Chan, 55, Member of Parliament (2002-16, 2017-19) and Leader of the Conservative Party (2014-15) *Benedict Ingram, 79, Member of Parliament (1994-2001) and Leader of the Conservative Party (1999-2001) *Neil Oder, 60, President of the Conservative Party (2014-18) Withdrew *James Grayson, 63, Senator from Capitalia since 2008, Leader of the Conservatives in the Senate *Roberta Naylor, 54, Senator from Bradmarch (1995-2017, 2017-) *Roland Cossey, 61, Senator from West Mainland (2000-), Minister for Trade and Leader of the Government in the Senate (2007-2010) *Mark Baxter, 49, Senator from East Mainland (2003-) Convention and nominee The convention was held in Santa Christina on 17 January 2020, with the party's National President, Andrew Chan (no relation to Lisa Chan) presiding. There were 438 delegates, 300 elected by party branches, and 138 chosen by various state executives. The results of the ballot were: Lisa Chan was nominated on the first ballot. She became the first woman to be nominated for President by the Conservatives, and the first Asian Georgelander to be a party candidate for the presidency. New Coalition Tthe Georgeland Alliance and Reform held a joint contest to determine the nominee, who would be endorsed by both parties, per their coalition agreement. It held its nomination convention on 10 February 2020. Alliance delegates were elected by local branches, while Reform delegates were chosen by party members through postal voting. Contested the nomination *Ken Romani, 69, Senator from Scoita (2008-2014) and Scoitan legislator (1998-2007) *Linda Aigh, 49, Reform party official and academic *Jack Walker, 80, Chief Minister of Scoita (1988-93) Withdrew *Jean Marin, 75, writer and commentator *Petra Addison-Cole, 38, National Secretary of Reform *Ross Groom, 42, federal Director of the Georgeland Alliance Convention and nominee The convention, chaired by Reform leader Ryan Stone (who had refused to nominate) opened on 10 February 2020, in Huzzah. There were 227 Alliance delegates and 152 Reform delegates. By agreement, a candidate required a two-thirds majority to be nominated (thus preventing the Alliance, a majority in the coalition, from having sole control over the candidate). The results of the ballot were: Without the need for a second ballot, Romani was nominated for the presidency. Vox Vox are holding a ballot of all party members to endorse a candidate, the only party to do so. There are four candidates for the party's presidential nomination. When he announced his run in October 2019, party founder Ross Golding said he did not want to be unopposed and encouraged others to also run. To nominate a candidate needed to present a nomination form signed by 1000 party members. Of the four candidates, only one has served in any elected office before, and one is a party branch official with no national profile. The ballot result will be announced on March 2. Golding is considered the heavy favourite. *Ross Golding , comedian, activist and Ita founder *Stephanie Yelland, 54, member of the Chipwich City Council (2000-2005) *Theresa Jones, 49, party branch president from Romphumburg *Fayed Moussa, 59, refugee rights advocate and immigration lawyer Green Party of Georgeland The Green Party held a convention with delegates chosen from its branches and members. Contested the nomination *Luther Karamanlis, 45, environmental scientist and writer *Hilde Logan, 27, youth leader and climate change activist *Sarah Ling, 40, party activist and media personality *Brenda Leech, 63, environmentalist *Stephanie O'Connell, 19, convention delegate and student *Gary Sharpe, 46, candidate and party official *James Baxter, 50, convention delegate *Peter Lennon, 57, National Secretary of the Green Party (2002-2008) *Julianne Otway, 27, civil servant and convention delegate Withdrew *Janice Frost , 72, Senator from West Mainland (2001-) Convention and nominee The Green Party's convention was held in Topstad on February 13. Only Karamanlis, Logan and Leech had campaigned among members. The convention's chair, former party leader Greg Downes, called for nominations from the floor and Ling, a party activist who had hosted several TV programs, was nominated along with O'Connell, Sharpe, Baxter, Lennon and Otway. Party rules, established in 2017, required a two-thirds majority to select a candidate. The results of the first ballot were: Since no candidate won the required supermajority, candidates who won less than 10% of the vote were eliminated and a second ballot held. The results were: More than eighty delegates boycotted the second round, in protest at the large number of nominations and Ling's sudden appearance in the ballot. As no candidate yet had a two-thirds majority, Logan was eliminated and a third ballot was held. The results were: No candidate having a two-thirds majority with only two candidates remaining, a fourth ballot would have been held among the same two candidates again, but with further nominations from the floor permitted. To prevent this, and the convention running into a second day, Ling withdrew her name from consideration. No other names were submitted. The convention then nominated Karamanlis by acclamation. Rally for Freedom The Rally for Freedom did not hold a formal nomination contest. On January 28, the party announced Nick Sheridan had been endorsed as the party's candidate for president. *Nick Sheridan, 56, Conservative Member of Parliament (1995-2013) and Attorney General of Georgeland (2007-2010) National Front *Iain Langley, 73, President of the National Front since 2002, and candidate for president in 2008, 2012 and 2016. Free Progressive Party The Free Progressive Party will not hold a nomination convention. The party's National Executive, elected by members, will announce the party's candidate on March 5. Independents and others *Campbell Rhodes, 56, President of Georgeland since 2017 A former Liberal Democrat, Rhodes resigned from the LDP after the 2019 general election at which the party was heavily defeated. He announced he would contest the upcoming presidential election as an independent to maintain his political distance from the new government and to more effectively work with all parties in the new multiparty system. *Barry Mattingley, 60, Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2017-20) *Theresa Torres, 39, climate change activist and former schoolteacher *Nancy Garrett, 70, Ambassador to Turkey (2007-10) and France (2010-14) Liberal Democrats The LDP resolved in September 2019 that it would not contest the presidential election, instead focussing on rebuilding its parliamentary prospects. The LDP has endorsed Rhodes, the party's founder, but will not run a candidate. Polling Results First round Two-candidate (final round)